All-
I spent last weekend camping in the infield at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We had a great time and have some pretty cool experiences that I would like to share with you.
First off, IMS president Doug Boles camped in the infield as well. He was parked 3 spots down from me and although he was very busy hosting the Grand Prix event, he still made time to hang with the fans and even drank a beer with us!
I arrived on Thursday morning and camped in the grass Woods lot. Indianapolis had received about 8 inches of rain the week or so prior however to my surprise the grass area was not muddy. After getting everything situated, IMS staff came by later in the day and asked us to meet them at the Pogada for a special behind the scenes tour of victory circle. Doug Boles and his son Carter led the tour and he spent an hour with us talking and showing us around victory lane. He even allowed us to walk on the track which he then gathered everyone up for a group photo.
On Friday, there was ton of track activity so there was cars running all day. They allowed free access into the garage area for the entire day. That evening, IMS staff came around and told us Doug was bringing some IndyCar drivers to his camper to do a Q&A session. I was surprised to see Al Unser JR, Johnny Rutherford, Tony Kanaan and a few others show up. They spent about an hour talking to the infield campers. It was very cool! At 8:30 that evening, IMS set up a huge screen and showed a kids movie and they offered free yogurt and popcorn. My kids loved it!
On Saturday, I was able to watch the IndyCar race from the comfort of my RV. With 5 laps to go in the race, we headed to victory circle and was able to see the awards presentation. My son's favourite driver, Ryan Hunter-Rey got third so my son was able to get his autograph! It was pretty awesome to be a part of the celebration as I had never stuck around after a race before as usually I am trying to beat the traffic
We made our way back to the camper and later that evening Doug Boles came back to his camper as well. He chit chatted for about an hour and even drank a cold beer with us!
There were approximately 50-75 campers parked in the infield. They kept it small as it was the first time ever other than glamping that camping was allowed in the Speedway during a race weekend. Given the positive feedback from campers, I think this will be a new tradition for years to come.
I paid $175.00 and camped for 3 nights. I did not have any hook-ups. We had a great time and will be back next year. If you ever wanted to camp inside the track at IMS I would highly recommend it!
2015 F150 EcoBoost
2015 Jayco 28DSBH
Mooresville, Indiana
